Psychological Outcomes in Long-Term Survivors of Childhood Leukemia, Hodgkin’s Disease, and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma: A Report From the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study

Abstract

This large, sibling-controlled, multisite study of young adult survivors of childhood leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma found that survivors had significant increased risk for reporting symptoms of depression and somatic distress and that intensive chemotherapy added to this risk. However, being a cancer survivor did not compound the effects of gender and SES variables on the 2 outcomes measured. The ability of SES, gender, and treatment-related variables to predict psychological symptoms in this cohort of childhood survivors and sibling controls calls for future research into varied biological and psychosocial pathways by which cancer influences future psychosocial functioning.